In which Kaminari learns the ropes of being a barista, discovers he can do magic with a wand and sees his high school crush again. Also in which Kirishima makes his debut because I love him.
Chapter 9. Resuming in a New Place
It only takes about 20 minutes for Kaminari to decide that he loves his new workplace. It's mostly thanks to his boss - he has a shock when he learns that the nice girl who interviewed him is also the owners' daughter, but she shows up again this morning and briefs him in on the details of his job - and the guy who's in charge of his training, as the boss-lady put it, Sugarman. Kaminari knows his real name is actually Sato, but Sugarman suits him so much better, despite his robust build.
"Yo!" a redhead calls as he shuffles into the shop in the wee hours of the morning, folding his umbrella. They aren't even open for business yet, so Kaminari guesses this must be his new coworker.
"I'm calling a real downpour for later today," the newcomer continues, his enthusiasm not damped even a notch by the gloomy sky as he strolls towards the counter. "You must be the new guy. Creati told us she'd found someone. Name's Kirishima," he offers a hand.
Kaminari needs a total of 10 seconds to take in Kirishima's face, red spiky hair supported by an ungodly amount of gel and sharp teeth punctuating the wide smile, and decides that he loves his coworker, too. "Kaminari. Looking forward to working with you."
"Nice handshake, man," Kirishima says and then knocks his knuckles on Sugarman's shoulder. "Counter or drinks?"
"Drinks; let Kaminari work at the counter today."
"Got it," Kirishima grins and shouts as he skips for the locker room, "Be right there!"
And he is right there. About one minute later, he's shrugged off the heavy red jacket and has draped an equally red apron over his waist - Kaminari appreciates the multicolored aprons, and the liberty to choose whichever one you want; he went for yellow - pinned the name badge to his shirt and strolled back behind the counter.
He's tying the apron behind his back with practiced ease when he elbows Kaminari slightly. "Come in the back, we have to bring in the coffee."
It's barely 5am, but Kirishima is wide awake and chatters all the way to the storage room and back. "You sure started your shift early," he says as he leads Kaminari through a door with a "Staff Only" sign, and pushes the heavy metal knob open.
"Yeah well, Creati said that the sooner I'm done with my training the sooner I can actually work around here. I'm kinda pumped," he admits with a childish grin.
As the lights in the storage room flicker to life, Kaminari notices his coworker is mirroring his grin. "I get you. Man, you're going to love this place! Sato's got the best sweets and Creati's literally the best boss. And the clients? They all love her and this cafe. You just need to get used to the names, but don't worry, we'll teach you. Grab that box, would you?" he says as he heaves two boxes into his own arms.
The box must have like a bazillion milk cartons inside because it threatens to break Kaminari's arms, but Kirishima seems to have no problem balancing the two boxes tucked under his chin. It's only then, in the dim lights of the storage room, that Kaminari notices how ripped he is, the way the sweater hugs his worked muscles, and he gains new found respect for Kirishima just 5 minutes after meeting him.
Loading the coffee machine, checking the drawers and learning the name of teas proves to be easy with Kirishima and Sugarman providing stories that put every strange name into context. His favourite story is that of the Pink Elixir, which isn't pink at all, but which was created by Ashido, whose favourite color is pink.
"She was just cleaning up and there were these unfinished drinks that she got a sudden urge to mix. She said the color was really pretty so she tried redoing the mix whilst adjusting the ratio of milk to tea and it turned out to be a success." Kirishima rubs the sweat of his forehead with the back of his hand, leaving a smudge of coffee behind.
"That's just random," Kaminari laughs.
"It's Ashido," Kirishima shrugs. "You'll meet her after the lunch break- she switches with me."
"Do you guys all know each other around here?"
"Pretty much," Kirishima nods. "Creati shifts our working hours so we all get to work with everyone else, and we also have parties or meetings outside work. They're great people," Kirishima grins and gives Kaminari a thumbs-up, and despite having worked with the redhead for no more than two hours, Kaminari finds himself trusting his colleague entirely.
As he snoops through the rest of the menu, Kaminari finds out the Smiling Potion is the first beverage to have ever been sold in A Cup of Magic.
"That's Momo's creation," Sugarman says as he wipes the tables in the shop with a wet towel, preparing to open in 15 minutes. "Her parents are tea-drinkers - her dad is a business man and apparently drinking tea puts people in a favorable state of mind for signing contracts. When she was little, she experimented with the tea leaves laying around the house, and the Smiling Potion was her first success."
Kaminari sniffs at the blend. The only scent he can make out is cinnamon, as well as something rather spicy that wafts into his nostrils and makes him crinkle his nose.
"Ginger," Sugarman chuckles. "Also Schisandra Berries, licorice root and dried green stevia leaves. It works wonders against stress thanks to the adaptogen support."
"Adapto-what?" Kaminari blinks at Sugarman blankly. Half of the ingredients he's just mentioned danced through his right ear and waltzed out the left one.
"Adaptogens," Sugarman repeats. "Substances used in herbal medicine for the stabilization of psychological processes. But you don't need to remember all that," he assures Kaminari with one of those trademark Sugarman smiles that puts dimples in his cheeks and makes anyone who listens to him believe in world peace and kindness.
"That's awesome tho!" Kaminari's excitement reaches an unusual level for 6 am, and he pulls another drawer open. "Winter Wonderland?"
"Spearmint, peppermint and a dash of cinnamon. Also, orange peels, but we just keep them in the infusion during the steeping."
And then he keeps going. Sugarman is an encyclopedia of tea ingredients, and he teaches Kaminari how to recognize certain smells. Until the first customers pour in at 6:30, Kaminari learns how to distinguish the fragrances of rooibos, hibiscus, lemongrass, rose buds and jasmine. He also learns that tea leaves easily absorb other fragrances, which is why they are stored away from the coffee, in separate, wooden drawers.
As the customers begin rolling in, he also begins understanding Kirishima's words. They're mostly stressed out students, getting their espressos before their depressos, but they're nice people. They ask if he's new, and chat a little- it feels refreshing, giving how early it is. Talking with strangers is maybe what Kaminari's best at, and they seem to appreciate the coffee puns (it's a brewtiful day after all) and his musical choices - it's a custom to have new employees choose the music of the day, and Kaminari couldn't be happier to put his DJ skills to good use.
"You're doing great, man!" Kirishima says about 7, and gives him a friendly slap on the back as he hands him the Energy Refill - it's actually foamed full milk marked with shots of espresso, and it's the most popular drink this morning despite not being the strongest. Then again, there's still a week until exams and despair kick in with full force, and all-nighters push them to get the Insomnia Fix - two straight shots of espresso.
About 7:15, the shop becomes really crowded, and people bump in the threshold as the queue starts winding between tables and stools. Nobody really stays to drink their coffee in, despite the rain drumming an alert rhythm onto the rooftops and the puddles merging into lakes where the pavement sunk, flooding the draining system. Every time the door opens, a gust of crisp, wet wind reaches the counter, whipping Kaminari's face. Every five minutes, one of the three employees mops the floor, muddy with footprints and small coffee stains.
And then the magic of the shop kicks in. As soon as moody people walk in, Sugarman spots them and passes a jar of still-steaming American cookies in the long line for free. The gloomy expressions melt into the soft light of the shop, and the harsh lines fade into weary smiles. Kaminari blasts Hail Rain or Sunshine in the cafe, and hums along to the lyrics. Some clients join him, and he drags Kirishima into singing the refrain, even though it's his first time hearing the song.
Kirishima, he finds out, is all about that- trying new things, opening up to people. When Kaminari goes back to the storage room to bring another bottle of fresh milk and cream, as well as flour and eggs for Sugarman's newest batch of pastries, he returns to find Kirishima at the counter, toothy smile and horny hair, and he has an epiphany.
If Kirishima's all muscles and good natured advice and encouragements and spiky, manly hair, and Sugarman's all strong build and keen taste buds and an encyclopedia of tea and coffee knowledge, Kaminari must be about music and grinning at every customer and cracking jokes, and that's all he needs before notes start stringing together in his head.
At 8am he finds out he's good at drawing random things in the cappuccino foam with the wand and realises all you need in order to be happy are these little things in life, and he gets why this is A Cup of Magic.
He hands out an Energy Refill with a kitty face engraved in the foam for a Medical Sciences major buried under a kitten sweater as he hums a small tune to himself. "What's that you're singing, man?" Kirishima asks as he hands him a new drink to be touched on by his magic wand.
Kaminari shrugs. "I don't know, but I'm about to find out."
The clock strikes 12 when Creati opens the door to the shop, the skirts of her lab coat sneaking out from under her jacket and the ends of her hair sticking to her wet neck. It looks like the umbrella she's laying to dry didn't have much of an effect against the downpour Kirishima had put dibs on.
Despite being drenched, Creati smiles at Kaminari and takes a seat on a counter stool. "How's your day been so far?"
Kaminari beams at her. "Brilliant," he admits, and sees her smile widen. "I still am kinda slow with drinks, but I'm a master at taking orders," he confidently says and whirls the wand in his hand. "And at making A+ foam drawings," he winks, and Creati chuckles.
"Well, master, how about going back to your forming queue?" Sugarman jokes, pointing to the line forming at the cashier.
Then he looks at Creati and sighs, "Ashido! Make me a Winter Wonderland!" before he disappears into the lockers room and returns with a towel that he throws on Creati's head. "And you, take care of yourself! We don't want our chief barista to get a cold with Christmas around the corner!"
Creati smiles sheepishly and puts her best innocent face on, eliciting a heavy sigh out of Sugarman. Kaminari sensed it this morning, but the two look like lifelong friends. "Are they super close or something?" he asks Ashido when she passes him the Winter Wonderland and a Molten Enigma.
Ashido is like Kirishima in many regards, horny hair and bubbly personality, as well as the contagious smile, though less toothy, granted. She's also all about pink, vibrant, electric pink at that, if her apron and sweater are anything to go by.
She hums in answer, "Sugarman's been here for four years. He knows Yaomomo better than any of us, and they've been the pillars of the business."
"You call her Yaomomo? That's so cool, can I borrow that?" When Ashido nods with a grin, he goes back to the subject, "So this shop is how old exactly?"
"Turning 15 this year," she says after a moment's thought. "That's right, the anniversary's coming, right Yaomomo?" she raises her voice to get her boss's attention.
"November 23rd," Creati - Yaomomo confirms, sipping her tea. "Speaking of which, we need to think of the menu for the day," she tells Sugarman, pulling a notebook out of her purse. Women's purses have always been a mystery to Kaminari: they are regular sized, but you could find anything there. Literally anything. He can't wrap his head around that.
"I'll need you all guys on that day, but we'll discuss it in more detail at the next meeting," Yaomomo says as she pulls out a pen, too, and starts discussing a special drink for the anniversary and promotional items. Even as she does so, she doesn't look like a business woman, but more like an excited child creating a menu for her doll party. Maybe that's why she chose Creati as a name.
As he draws a thumbs up in the latte, Kaminari wonders what name he's going to chose for himself. Maybe Pikachu? A girl he had a crush on in high school used to call him that. Sometimes, he still wonders what she's up to. After all, it's thanks to her that he's a Music Major now.
Shouto isn't surprised to find Kaminari wearing the A Cup of Magic apron when he enters the coffee shop, neither does Momo teaching him about Arabica and Robusta beans and how dark roasts have less caffeine than lighter roasts take him aback. When their eyes meet, the blond smiles widely and waves his hand as if they have been friends for ages.
"You're here again!" Kaminari exclaimes as Shouto reaches the counter, holding his fist up in the air again. Shouto wonders if Kaminari does this with everyone, but doesn't particularly mind the fistbumping - there's something about the atmosphere at this cafe that makes him more relaxed, and he breathes easier in the air smelling of grounded coffee.
"You know each other?" Momo seems surprised, and Shouto can't blame her - he's just as amused by the ease with which Kaminari has befriended him, if that is the right term to use.
"Yep," Kaminari smiles one of his electric smiles again, and Shouto figures he could get used to this, although he still prefers Momo's ciy smiles that make her soft around the edges. "He gave me really good advice before the interview!"
"He did?" Momo asks rhetorically, tilting her head as if she's trying to figure something out.
"So are you a regular here?" Kaminari asks again, excitement obvious in his voice and overwhelming Shouto. Nobody's usually so interested in him - but then again, this coffee shop is far from usual.
"Yes."
"Can I try my first drink on you?" The golden eyes are fixed on him, imploring him to say "yes". Shouto looks at Momo in search of an escape, but the onyx of her irises is just as pleading and Shouto sighs. "I guess."
"Dude, you're my hero!" Kaminari skips to the coffee machine, and then returns to Shouto, mildly embarrassed. "Uhm, maybe I should have asked this before, but what's your order?"
Shouto can't help the crinkling smile on his face. "Green tea, medium."
"Gotcha!"
Momo chuckles at his excitement, and even more at Ashido's exasperated sighs as she slaps Kaminari's hands away from the brew. Shouto feels his smile grow, and hides it behind his scarf. "He looks like a handful."
"He is," Momo says quietly. "But he's a natural charmer, and that might be what we missed around here." Shouto would argue she's a charmer, too, but he somehow gets what she means. Unlike her, Kaminari isn't well-mannered or soft spoken, but he isn't a jerk either. He's naturally clumsy and somehow that only serves to make him more endearing.
"He's doing well for his first day, though," Momo notices, and leans against the counter, as if a huge burden was lifted off her shoulders. "I'm so glad I wasn't wrong on this one."
Shouto remembers how stressed out she was just a day before and loosens a breath he didn't know he was holding. It's strange how her worries affect him, but words have never been his strong suit, so he comforts her by pulling out the daily bag of scones.
Momo's face lights up as they fall on the scones, and she then raises her eyes to him. "That's it! One day of being able to walk into the kitchen and be a barista yourself!"
"What?"
"Ah, this is perfect! Sato, I've got it," she calls the barista frosting a piece of cake for table 16, ignoring Shouto's bewildered look. Sato looks up, just as curious. "For the shop's anniversary, we can let customers walk behind the counter! Under our supervision, of course, but they may want to know what it's like to be an employee of A Cup of Magic!"
"There is an anniversary?" Shouto asks, still not sure what's going on.
"Yes! November 23rd is the date A Cup of Magic opened, and we're celebrating 15 years next week!"
"Oh," Shouto says, but what he actually means is "waw". He can't believe the sparkling clean shop is 15. It's been here for so long, and there's a mythical feeling about it, like there's more to this small coffee place, and yet it always feels new. There's another item on the menu each day, and just because Shouto doesn't change his order doesn't mean he doesn't notice the constant upgrade.
Before the news truly sinks in, Kaminari returns with his drink. Instead of Momo's beautifully written Shouto on the cup, there is now a messily scribbled Awesome Dude, and it almost makes him laugh, but he doesn't give Kaminari that satisfaction.
"So? How is it?" There are the puppy eyes again, and Shouto hides a sigh by sipping on his drink.
It tastes no different than the usual, and he says just as much, earning a grin from the barista-in-training. That grin soon fades though, and Shouto and Momo exchange a concerned glance before following Kaminari's sudden wistful look.
There's a woman sitting besides Shouto now. She's shorter than Momo, purple hair in a bob style and one earphone plugged out as she squints at the menu. When she opens her mouth to order "One Caramel Delight grande" Shouto recognizes her as Momo's best friend.
Apparently so does Kaminari. "Jirou?"
Momo's eyes dart between her newest employee and her best friend. Kyouka's eyes widen as she zeroes in on Kaminari, whose face is split by a grin wider than any she's ever seen him sport. Kyouka, on her part, looks slightly confused and mostly surprised.
"Jirou? Is that really you? Woah, I haven't seen you in years! Remember me?"
"Pikachu," she swallows.
"You're never going to stop calling me that, are you?" he laughs, and then adopts a serious face. "May I get your order?"
Kyouka's eyes slide sideways to Momo. "You hired this idiot?"
"Agh Jirou, you're as harsh as ever!" Kaminari laments, but both women ignore him.
"You know him?" Momo settles for asking, pinning Kyouka with her eyes. They've been friends since middle school and she never mentioned a Pikachu. It's not like Momo expects Kyouka to tell her everything, but she feels hurt for not knowing about the guy that makes her best friend blush at this question.
"We were in the same class during the first year of high school," she says as if her face didn't just get a shade redder.
"And we were also in a band together," Kaminari helpfully supplies, oblivious to the tension that makes Kyouka elbow him. "Ouch, what was that for?"
"Just get me my Caramel Latte," she sighs and then informs Momo, "Shop's pretty empty so I'll be borrowing your amplifier. Get me when my drink's ready." And with that, she plugs her earphone back in and leaves.
"Sheesh, she's as cold as ever," Kaminari sighs, but there's a goofy smile taking over his face, and Momo knows that and her friend's blush can only mean one thing.
"Oh, is that a crush I'm spotting?" Mina asks, blooming in front of them out of the wooden floor. Momo forgot she and Shouto were even there, and as Kaminari nods, she forgets that again.
"I had a massive crush on her in high school," he admits like it's nothing. "Damn, she's even more beautiful now." He pushes the cup with the order in Mina's hands, and whooses her back to work with a push towards the tea drawers.
"But that's not all, is it?" Momo finds herself asking, and bites her lower lip. She shouldn't be this nosy, but she can't help the feeling that there's more to the wistful glances Kaminari steals in Kyouka's direction, even if he can't actually see her.
"It's not."
It's late. Late enough that the school is almost empty and the sky is painted hues of pink and red. Kaminari hates getting punished for being late, but he hates waking up on time even more, so he guesses he had it coming. If he has to clean the lockers of the judo club one more time, though, he might reconsider his morning routine. That place stinks.
He's heading for his classroom to gather his stuff when he hears it. It's faint at first, and he thinks he must be mistaken, because who'd play the guitar instead of going home? Club activities are over and everything, too. But as he gets closer to his classroom, he knows his ears aren't wrong, and he passes by his destination to find the person passionate enough about music to stay behind in school.
Kaminari rattles the door to the music club room open to find a single person there. It's a girl with purple eyes and long jack earrings, who cradles a guitar in her arms and jolts when she hears the door opening, her eyes still on the chords. She looks up at him and presses the guitar closer to her chest, as if she was caught red handed.
When the purple eyes curtained by fear meet his gold, inquisitive ones, Kaminari realises the girl is in the same class as him.
"Jirou?" The mention of her name startles her, as if it exposes her darkest secrets. "What are you doing?"
She jumps up, hiding the guitar behind her as if he didn't see it already or her fragile frame would be enough to make it invisible. "I'm- I was just about to go."
She rushes past him, but he catches her wrist. She freezes and looks absolutely terrified when meeting his eyes. Kaminari lets go of her hand and smiles encouragingly. "Sorry, I didn't mean to interrupt. You can continue." Some of the tension leaves her body. "Can I listen?" A wild blush blooms on her face and she steps away from him, as if his smile is burning her.
He hasn't talked to Jirou much, but she doesn't seem like the shy kind. She talks to her classmates easily, and he even saw her cracking jokes. Maybe it's him that's making her uncomfortable?
He's genuine when he beams and says, "I think playing the guitar is so cool!"
She blushes a darker shade of red, rivaling the crimson color of the sky, but walks back to her spot and fits her fingers on the chords. "Are you going to stand there like an idiot or what?" she eventually says without looking up at him. Her words hold no bark.
He smiles to himself as he takes a seat on the floor and crosses his legs, watching her play. He hasn't noticed it before, but her fingers are long and slender, the flesh ripped on her forefinger, nails longer than his, but not long enough to be painted, and her hands look pretty as she uses them to tug at the strings.
She licks her lips and tucks her hair behind her ears. It's like she enters a world of her own when she starts playing, bobbing her head to a tune Kaminari doesn't recognise, her eyes glued to the guitar but at the same time lost in a place so far away on;y her songs can reach it. For a moment, Kaminari feels like he can see what she sees, like he can feel the wind in his hair and see a rusted forest, catch a glimpse of a highway, but then he blinks and the song is over and she's looking at him with purple, mesmerising, intense eyes the likes of which Kaminari has never before and never since seen.
It becomes their thing, staying behind at school without being enrolled in the music club, just to play. At first he listens to her, and learns she can play virtually any instrument, from chords to no chords to bells. Then she offers to teach him. He finds out she's actually patient, snarky but kind at the same time, and that her fingers are soft over his despite their rough exterior.
"You're actually quite good at this," she tells him one August evening, as they walk together to the station. The wind is whooshing past them, toying with her long earrings, and Kaminari feels like he can hear Cliffs of Dover - the song she was playing on the day he met the real her.
"Nowhere near as good as you," he says, his aching fingers proof of how much he still has to learn. "Are you thinking about going pro?"
Jirou huffs a laugh at that. "No way. I could never play in public." She shudders at the thought.
"Sure you could!" Kaminari protests. "Hey, here's an idea: how about we start a band?"
"Are you nuts?" She looks at him as if he just told her Mozart liked pop.
"I'm serious!" he says and earns an elbow in his ribs. "You're good, Jirou! Don't let that go to waste! Do you have anything else you want to do that badly?"
"There isn't, but that's not the point. I can barely play in front of you, Pikachu!"
"Am I that scary?" he laughs.
"No, you're not." Her voice is much softer than he expected. "I just don't do that well in front of people, you know? Being able to play it's fun, and it's fun with you. But it's just that: fun. It's a hobby, and-"
"It doesn't have to be a hobby." He stops walking and grabs both of her shoulders, trapping her eyes in his. "You've got what it takes to make it to pro, Jirou!"
"The pro world is tough, Kaminari." A glum look takes over her face as she holds his steady gaze.
"Then I'll go pro too. It won't be as scary if we're together, right?"
He isn't joking, but she still chuckles. "You? You wouldn't resist there a day, Pikachu," she laughs, yanking herself free from his grip. Even so, she walks closer to him on the way back, and when he links their hands, she doesn't object.
"So he's the reason for the sudden change of heart?" Momo says as she softly nudges Kyouka's shoulder with her drink.
Kyouka takes it, removes the lid, inhales the caramel scent of the topping and chortles at the musical note drawn on top. "So he told you."
"You've never mentioned it." It's not an accusation, and the fact that Kyouka knows is reflected in the way she nods and sips her drink. It's a question that can be left as an affirmation if she doesn't feel like answering.
"Talking about it would have made it feel real. You know I suck at feelings, Yaomomo."
"He's a music Major, you know?"
Kyouka chokes on her drink. "That idiot," she mumbles in between coughs.
"Have you summoned me?" Kaminari smiles, and Kyouka's eyes go wide for a second, but she still can't stop the fit of coughs. "Shouto said he'll cover for me. Can I get just 5 minutes?" he gives Momo a pleading look, akin to the one he gave Shouto just a while ago.
She nods. The shop is quiet anyway, and they need their intimacy. She gets up and dusts her skirt. "I'll be at the counter," she informs them, and turns the corner while ignoring her friend's look - Kyouka must be glaring at her, she can feel it.
Momo finds Shouto, blue apron tied over his shirt, doing the dishes. "You needn't do that. The shop isn't very busy now."
"Are they okay?" he asks, giving her a plate to place in the drier as she joins him next to the sink.
Music reaches their ears- it's Cliffs of Dover, the one song Momo knows Jirou sings whenever something's bugging her, claiming the complex guitar solo takes her mind off everything else. The sound of another guitar soon joins hers, in perfect synchronization, and Momo smiles.
"They'll be alright."
Hey guys!
This update is long overdue but hey, almost 5k?! Please forgive me *makes Kirishima puppy dog eyes*.
Anyhow, many of you have noticed music is a big thing in A Cup of Magic, and Kaminari and Jirou are both music majors, so I figured I'd give you a playlist! This is what Kaminari played in the shop on his first day as a barista (on spotify): Kaminari's Playlist
Finally, the KamiJirou is here! Next chapter will mostly be dedicated to them too, and Todomomo will bond over their friends' dorky romance lol. Also, Deku will make an appearance because he's both a great friend and boyfriend! I know I took long with this chapter, July was an awfully full and quite messy month for me and my family. My grandfather was in the hospital (he's out now and he's fine, no worries) as was grandmother, so writing wasn't really my strong point.
Aaaaanyhow, this is here now and we're all fine and healthy so I'll try my best to get chapter 11 out by the end of the month! No promises though:) Hopefully you enjoyed this (and finally there were coffee shop themed discussions lol. Introducing Kaminari was the break I was waiting for to talk about tea and coffee types and I still have many fun facts to share!)
Until next time with a cup of Energy Refill, lovely readers~